After a hot start to his career, the once-promising wideout searches for redemption with the Bills
The Buffalo Bills have all sorts of new faces in their rebuilt wide receiver room. They have young players, they have tall players, they have shifty speedsters, and they have some well-traveled veterans. Each player has a story to tell, and each one wants a chance to work with a star quarterback in Josh Allen.
While some of the men in the wide receiver group have roles that are fairly easy to discern, there are plenty who are fighting for their NFL lives. Some of those players are guys who could someday come up in one of those conversations with your friends where you name random, obscure NFL players for hours on end. Some of them, though, are fairly well-known names.
In today’s edition of “91 players in 91 days,” we focus on one of the players whose name is well-known, but whose role is anything but.
Chase Claypool
- Number: 14
- Position: WR
- Height/Weight: 6’4”, 238 pounds
- Age: 26 (27 on 7/7/2025)
- Experience/Draft: 5; selected in the second round (No. 49 overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2020 NFL Draft
- College: Notre Dame
- Acquired: Signed with Bills on 5/3/2024
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Claypool signed a one-year deal worth $1.125 million. Of that total, just $25,000 is guaranteed in the form of a signing bonus. That figure is what Buffalo will carry as a dead-cap charge if he’s released. If he makes the roster, Claypool’s cap number for 2024 is $1.085 million.
2023 Recap: It was the second consecutive disappointing season for Claypool, who began 2023 in what was expected to be his first full season with the Chicago Bears. The Bears had acquired him in a trade with the Steelers at the trade deadline in 2022. He only played in three games for the Bears last season, catching four passes for 51 yards and a score. He was criticized for a lazy performance in Week 1, then was loudly blaming the Bears’ coaching staff for preventing him from being successful. Claypool was asked to stay home after the team deactivated him for their Week 4 contest as they searched for a trade partner. They found that partner in the Miami Dolphins, shipping him out along with a seventh-round draft choice in the 2025 NFL Draft for a 2025 sixth-round choice. Claypool played in nine games for Miami, appearing on just 51 offensive snaps. He did play on 44% of the Dolphins’ special teams snaps upon his arrival. He caught four passes for 26 yards on seven targets with the Dolphins.
Positional outlook: Claypool is one of 13 wideouts on the current roster. He joins Keon Coleman, Curtis Samuel, Khalil Shakir, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Andy Isabella, Tyrell Shavers, K.J. Hamler, Mack Hollins, Bryan Thompson, Xavier Johnson, Lawrence Keys, and Justin Shorter.
2024 Offseason: Claypool seems to have adjusted his attitude after two straight disappointing seasons, and his work ethic has been strong in camp. He’s dealt with a toe injury since the early portion of practices at St. John Fisher University.
2024 Season outlook: Claypool is an interesting case. Of all of the back-end types on Buffalo’s roster, he’s the only one who has any sort of NFL success under his belt. In his first two seasons with the Steelers, he caught 121 passes on 214 targets for 1,733 yards and 11 scores. However, in the three seasons since, he’s played 27 games for three different teams, catching just 54 passes on 100 targets for 528 yards and two scores.
Claypool’s been on three different teams because he’s displayed a terrible attitude — something that doesn’t necessarily bode well given some of the controversy attracted by the last wideout to wear No. 14 for the Bills, Stefon Diggs. His personality “quirks” were easy to work around because he was one of the most productive wideouts in the game. Claypool’s lack of production combined with his bad attitude means a hard pass from most other squads.
So, why do I think he has a chance this season? Claypool has spoken like a player who knows this might be his last best shot to revive his career. He seems to have worked hard in practices when he was able to go full-bore, and he’s been rehabbing each day in an attempt to return to the field. He has a size/strength profile that could give him a leg up on some of the more inexperienced players in camp who aren’t as naturally gifted. However, there are players in camp who are certainly better at creating separation.
If there’s anyone who most Bills fans thought would beat Claypool out as WR6, it was likely that one of two names came up: K.J. Hamler or Justin Shorter. Andy Isabella was a dark-horse third-party candidate. However, if the reports out of practice are to be believed, a real dark horse has emerged in Tyrell Shavers.
Whereas coaches and media members have all sung Shavers’ praises this summer, little has been said about Shorter or Hamler, although the latter seems to have had some looks lately in the quick passing game. That leads me to believe that the second-year man out of San Diego State may be trending towards one of those last wide receiver spots.
If the Bills only keep six receivers, it might come down to Shavers and Claypool as a special teams player who can double in as a tall red zone threat. Hamler has shown up as a returner (he was listed as the top returner in the team’s first unofficial depth chart) and in that quick-hit role. I don’t think Shorter or Isabella are making the roster.
If you forced me to make a decision right now, I think the Bills are keeping seven wideouts: Coleman, Samuel, Shakir, Valdes-Scantling, Hollins, Shavers, and Hamler. Perhaps Claypool will return to the field soon enough to stake a claim there, but thanks to strong performances from others in niche roles and his own bad injury luck, I think Claypool’s fortunes have taken a turn for the worse.